


School is in Session

by Imcalledzorro



Series: Teacher AU [5]
Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Appendicitis, Feels, Found Family, Gen, Genealogy, Hurt/Comfort, Mac is clumsy, One Shot, Teacher AU, Teachers, Team as Family, mention of murdoc, teacher verse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:07:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24614248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imcalledzorro/pseuds/Imcalledzorro
Summary: Mac and Jack’s adventures teaching at The Phoenix Foundation of Learning
Series: Teacher AU [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1484243
Comments: 27
Kudos: 28





	1. The Interview

**Author's Note:**

> The Interview: Mac and Jack interview with Principal Webber for positions at the Phoenix Foundation of Leaning.
> 
> A/N: Here it is ya'll fresh from my wonderful beta BabyGenius the latest installment of the teacher 'verse. Ya’ll we have finally reached the part of the AU where it really goes AU! You will see a lot of familiar faces in new positions! I hope you are as excited as I am!  
>  I usually post this at the bottom but figured why not do things a bit differently. So in my tradition of shamelessly talking promoting my next fic; it will be 'Remember Me (I'm the one who loves you) :James asks Mac to help him track down a former mentor after the mentor goes missing from the Alzheimer’s ward at his assisted living home. But in true MacGyver fashion it isn’t as straightforward or easy as it sounds

Jack Dalton squirmed in his seat and adjusted his tie, again. “Will you stop?” His friend, Angus MacGyver, hissed at him. Jack and Mac were in the waiting area of the prestigious Phoenix Foundation of Learning waiting to be called back for a job interview. After their graduation ceremony, a tall thin severe looking woman who introduced herself as Patricia Thornton had invited them to join the staff at the school. After extracting agreements from both of them she had disappeared, saying that someone would reach out to them. Months had passed before an interview was scheduled.

Sighing, Jack straightened his tie and whispered back, keeping one eye on the secretary, Jamie, Julie, or something like that, “Why did we have to wear these monkey suits again?”

Mac sighed, rubbing his forehead, “I told you before, to make a good impression and show Ms. Thornton that we are professionals.” His eyes slid to Jack, “Though I have some doubts about some of us.”

“Ha freaking ha.” Jack retorted. He was going to say more, but the secretary, Juls approached.

“The principal will see you now.” She motioned them to come with her. “If you’ll just follow me, I’ll show you to her office.”

“Thank you Jill.” Mac smiled politely as they followed her down a short hallway to the last door.

 _‘That was her name!’_ Jack thought as he gave her a smile himself.

Opening the door she gestured, “Principal Webber will see you now.” She shut the door behind them as she left.

The room was large with colorful walls and children’s artwork hung all around. Jack was examining one of the pictures when he heard someone clearing their throat, turning around his mouth fell open. Sitting behind the oak desk was none other than Matty the Hun herself. Shocked didn’t even begin to describe how he felt. He hadn’t seen his old CIA handler in a coon’s age, since that last disastrous mission.

“Careful there Dalton, a fly might fly in with how your mouth is gaping.” Matty quipped, with her usual level of sarcasm. Some things never changed.

Snapping his mouth shut he plopped in the seat beside Mac and ignored his friend’s quizzical look. “I thought we were meeting with that lady who looked all uptight, never expected to see you here.”

“Well she was fired for embezzling, so now I’m stuck handling this.” She turned to Mac, “Forgive my rude manners, I’m Matilda Webber, the Principal for the Phoenix Foundation for Learning. You may call me—”

“Matty the Hun.” Jack broke in. He couldn’t help but needle her, after their last mission had gone down so spectacularly he never expected to hear from her again.

“Dalton, say that one more time, and I won’t be held accountable for my actions.” Matty glared at him.

She may have only been four feet tall, but he believed her. He glanced over at Mac who was glaring at him, so for the sake of the job he decided to play nice. “Truce.”

Matty nodded in agreement before moving on. “We usually don’t do job interviews in pairs, but there is a first for everything. Now what do you know about the Phoenix Foundation of Learning?” She looked at both men with interest.

Jack let Mac take the question. “I couldn’t find much beyond the school’s homepage on the internet,” Mac admitted. “It is a private school for children pre-kindergarten through high school. The majority of students go onto college or serve in the armed forces.”

Smiling, Matty nodded, “Good, we like to try to keep a low profile. Here at the Phoenix we cater to the children of high ranking government officials, children who have parents in a clandestine agency, children who show promise, and gifted children who are on scholarship. We are a diverse group of both students and facility. We hold our children to the highest academic standard and are honored with the highest test scores in the state.” She pulled out a folder. “Mr. MacGyver, it says that you have dual degrees in both science and math?”

Mac blushed, “It’s just Mac, ma’am. I do, I couldn’t decide which one to specialize in, so I decided both.” She nodded and jotted a few things down.

“Jack,” She said it like one would say poison. “You actually managed to achieve a degree in history?”

“I do have a few brain cells.” Jack answered drolly. Out of the side of his eyes he could see Mac glaring at him again. “It’s just a piece of paper, kinda like toilet paper.” He felt Mac kick him in the ankle. He had a horrible thought—what if they offered Mac a job here and not him. He couldn’t let that happen, he had sworn an oath to protect the kid, even if it was just from himself. So he straightened putting on his professional Jack face.

Matty sighed and moved on, “I see that you worked together in Afghanistan.”

“Yes, ma’am. He was my EOD tech, and a dammed good one.” Jack answered. He noticed that Matty had smiled, but they were moving on.

“So Mac, why do you want to be a teacher at our little school?” Matty asked.

“When I realized that my deployment was nearing its end I had a decision to make. I could either re-up or take a civilian job. I joined the Army to help make a difference, so I thought it might be time to see if I can help make a difference in some children’s lives to maybe make the world’s future a little better.” Mac stated holding himself still. Jack could tell how nervous Mac was by watching Mac as he folded and unfolded a paperclip under the desk. Jack had realized that Mac used paperclips as a way to keep his hands busy as he worked through something, or when he was stressed, or nervous. 

“How about you Dalton?”

“I go where he goes.” He said, motioning to Mac. Then remembering professional Jack, “And I have a large family filled with kids, and I love trying to teach the kids new things. When they get the hang of a new skill or learn some new information, I love how their eyes just light up.” He gave them a wry grin, “Even if their mommas don’t like it. I want to help these kids to love history and sports the way I do.”

Matty nodded, and jotted something down. “Several members of our facility and staff are former military and clandestine operators. I feel like that gives our students the best possible protection without having to have guards. All the janitors are ex-special forces.” She aimed a look at Jack. “And our parents know this and it creates a certain atmosphere here at the Phoenix. With that being said, how would you handle a disruptive student?”

“That’s easy!” Jack exclaimed. Matty fixed him with one of her glares, and he remembered professional Jack. “If I am the coach I like to make sure the student knows that they have a lot of running and doing drill over and over if they are disruptive, but if there is a reason for how they’re actin’ I like to try to find that problem and get to the bottom of it.”

“Mac?”

“If a student isn’t being challenged enough I like to try to stimulate them with more difficult work that will keep their focus. I know from experience that a lot of students act out because they aren’t being challenged enough. Also like what Jack said if there is an underlying issue I like to work with the student to understand and overcome that challenge.”

Matty questioned them for fifteen more minutes about classroom structure, dealing with parents, and all the other fun things that come with being a teacher. She finally ended with, “So do you have any questions for me?”

“No, ma’am.” Mac sat up straighter. “I really enjoyed the campus and am looking forward to hopefully working with you guys.”

“I have a question.” Two sets of eyes swung towards Jack. “When do we start?”

“Dalton,” Matty said with a warning in her voice. Then, “It was a pleasure to interview you today Mr. MacGyver. After we speak to all the applicants we will let you know our decision. Thank you for coming in today.” She looked at Jack as she got up, “You too Dalton.” Standing beside the desk she added, “I’ll give you extra credit if you know where I can hire a computer teacher also. I had to fire the other one, he was helping Ms. Thornton in her scheme.”

An idea floated across Jack’s mind—well, it won’t hurt. “Matty, I might know somebody. I don’t think she has a degree in teaching, but she is the best when it comes to computers.” He reached across her desk, grabbing a pen and paper. Jotting a name and location down, he handed it to Matty.

Reading it, she arched an eyebrow, then set it back on her desk. She shook both their hands and escorted them to the door.

***************************************

Dalton and MacGyver hadn’t been out of the room for over fifteen minutes when her desk phone rang. Matty knew who it was even before she answered.

“How did the interview go?” The man on the other end of the phone didn’t even wait for her to greet him.

“You know most people at least wait until I say hello to start demanding things from me.”

“You know I’m not most people.” The voice said amusedly.

“No, no you’re not,” she agreed amicably. “The interview went well. You should have seen the look on Dalton’s face, I should have recorded it so I could watch it over and over again.”

“I think you might be enjoying this a little bit too much, Matilda.”

Matty snorted, “I’m enjoying it just the right amount. Now were you calling for something other than meddling where you don’t belong, or was that it?”

“So are you going to hire him?” The voice asked.

“I think you already know the answer,” Matty said before hanging up on him. With a smile she sat back in her chair and looked at the other candidates that she had to interview for the job postings that MacGyver and Dalton had interviewed for. But she was curious about that name Dalton had given her for the computer teacher. Setting aside the other candidates, she decided to see what she could find on the Riley Davis that Dalton recommended.

*********************************

A few hours later saw Mac and Jack sitting on Mac’s back porch. Both men had changed into more comfortable clothes and were enjoying a before supper beer together on the deck. Jack was flipping his bottle top in the air, catching it, them flipping it again. With a sigh Mac snatched it out of the air. “Tell me what was up with you and Principal Webber.” This wasn’t the first time Mac had asked, but Jack kept on telling him that he would tell him in a little while. Mac’s patience had ended.

“First tell me why you were so nervous. Don’t think I didn’t see you fiddling with that paper clip. You’ve got nerves of steel. Have to, to work with bombs.”

“It was my first job interview. I think I had a right to be nervous. Not quit stalling and fess up.”

With a sigh Jack took a drink, stalling the inevitable, “Fine kid. She used to be my handler back in my CIA days.”

Mac narrowed his eyes at Jack, “If that was all there was to the story you would have told me a long time ago. Now, tell me what’s up with you and her.”

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re like a dog with a bone?”

“You, all the time.”

Jack rolled his eyes. “We may have had a bit of a falling out that led to me quitting the CIA and re-enrolling in the Army, which led me to you.” He held up his beer bottle. “Cheers?”

Mac knew some of Jack’s background in Delta and the CIA, but he had never shared why he decided to re-up. “I need the whole story, now.”

Opening his mouth to object, he was interrupted by the ringing of Mac’s cell phone. Flashing a grin at Mac, “Saved by the bell.”

Thumbing his cell phone on, Mac shot Jack a glare, “This is far from over. Hello.”

“Mac, this is Matty Webber from the Phoenix Foundation for Learning, I’m assuming Dalton is lurking close by.”

With a smile, Mac replied, “Yes ma’am.”

“Might as well put me on speaker then,” she said with a sigh.

Hitting the button to put it on speaker he held it between him and Jack. “You’re on speaker.”

“It is my pleasure to offer you and, against my better judgment, Dalton a job here at the school. You both impressed me and the rest of the board. We would love to have you come to the school Monday around one to sign your contracts and go over some pertinent details.”

Both men were grinning ear to ear. “Yes ma’am. We’ll see you then!” Mac said.

“Welcome to the Phoenix Foundation, I’ll see you both Monday,” with that she hung up.

“We did it!” Mac exclaimed, he was so excited he felt like he was vibrating.

“We sure did kid!” Mac held his hand out for a fist bump, but Jack pulled him into a big rib-crushing hug. “I can’t wait to call mom and them. They’ll be so proud of you!”

Mac blushed at the compliment. “Let’s go get changed and I’ll treat you to that steakhouse that you like so much, as a celebration.”

“You’re on!” Jack dialed as he headed into the house to change.

Lingering on the deck for a second Mac whispered, “Hope I’m making you proud too Harry.” Then he also went to go get changed. It was time to celebrate them and their accomplishments.


	2. What Goes Up (Must Come Down)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mac is Clumsy even as a teacher.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all back with another 'Teacher 'Verse" update! Thanks to BabyGenius for the beta, and as always I don't own MacGyver. Hope you enjoy!

Jack Dalton, driver’s education teacher extraordinaire, was trying to keep his cool and _not_ murder one of his students. Molly, the aforementioned student, looked at him with her huge wet doe eyes, “I’m sorry, Mr. Dalton.” Her voice even wobbled on his name. 

Slowly releasing his breath Jack told her, “I understand, Molly. Now put it into drive and let’s ease down off the sidewalk. Then we’ll try again to parallel park, again.” Then he muttered to himself, ‘And this time stay off the sidewalk and away from the other students.’ 

Molly nodded hesitantly and put the car into drive. The car thunked as it rolled off the sidewalk. Molly whimpered and stomped on the brake, jerking her and Jack in their seatbelts; Jack took another deep breath and wished he has chosen a different job far away from here. One of the other three students waiting on the sidewalk for their turn in the driver’s seat ran up to the car. Jack braced himself expecting the student to tell him that the bumper fell off or something like that. 

“Hey Mr. Dalton! I uh, I think Mr. Mac fell in the pond!” The kid exclaimed. 

Turning to Molly Jack ordered. “Just sit there and …study it!” He climbed out of the passenger’s seat and called to one of the students he trusted not to break the car into a thousand different pieces. “Chad, get in there with Molly and make sure she doesn’t break anything. Maddie and Jim you two follow me.” The driveway where they were practicing was only a few yards from where the school had their science pond at. As he jogged his way over he saw a group of students standing around said pond, most with their phones out as Mac slowly crawled out of the muddy pond. 

“Back up! Give Mr. MacGyver some room.” Jack ordered as he got closer. The students quickly backed up at his bellowed order, not used to hearing someone yell at them like that. 

“Hey Coach Dalton, Mr. Mac, well he….” One of the students started. 

Jack cut him off with a glare. “You ok?” Jack asked as Mac sat on the solid ground. He was sopping wet and caked with mud. Mac looked like a toddler who had just went swimming with his clothes on. 

Squinting up at Jack, Mac sighed, “I’ve been better. Help me up?” Mac extended his hand for Jack to grab, and it was a good thing he did because as soon as Mac was standing he let out a gasp and almost fell back down. Jack grabbed Mac with his other hand steadying him. 

“What’s up Hoss?” He asked with concern. 

“You okay Mr. MacGyver?” A girl’s voice called out. 

“Yeah, you’re not lookin so good dude,” another student added. 

Taking command of the situation Jack said, “Jim, you take Mr. Mac’s students back to the classroom and stay with them taking names of anybody who doesn’t start on whatever was assigned.” A groan came from the class. Jack narrowed his eyes at the group. “And if you are on any of the teams here at school and I find out that you wasn’t working, double workout!” A few scoffs were heard this time, along with at least one kid muttering, “Glad I’m not on any team.” The group slowly made its way back to the building. Mac started tugging his arm out of Jack’s grasp. “Quit squirming or you’re gonna fall over,” Jack ordered. 

Rolling his eyes, Mac held up his security badge. “They need to be able to get in my classroom.” Tugging the lanyard off, Mac passed it to Jack. 

“Maddie, take this to Jim, then head to the office and get Nurse Gammy down here. After that get Molly and Chad then y’a ~~’~~ ll can get your phones out.” 

“Yes sir, Mr. Dalton!” She said gleefully. She took off towards the group of students, quickly catching up. 

Eying a bench situated near the pond, Jack asked, “Do you think you can hop over there while we wait for Nurse Gammy?” 

Mac shot him an icy glare. “I’ve walked further on worse.” 

“You don’t have to remind me Mr. Snippy.” Jack let go of one of Mac’s arms and supported the other one while Mac awkwardly hopped over to the seat and sat down with an audible sigh of relief. “So what happened? All of a sudden one of my kids started yelling that Mr. Mac’s fallen in the pond.” 

“Kid sounds like Lassie. Help Timmy’s fallen in the well!” Mac joked. They shared a laugh. After shaking his head and pulling some of the green stuff and mud out of his hair Mac sighed, “I was leaning over to get a water sample to show them about algae and its place in the biodiversity of the ecosphere and the mud shifted. I wasn’t able to catch my balance, so in I went. Guess I twisted my ankle as I fell.” 

Scooting to the end of the bench Jack patted his leg, “Put your ankle up here and let’s get a look at it.” Mac did as instructed. Jack carefully unlaced his shoe and slipped it off. Mac hissed at the motion. “Well it’s already starting to swell, Bud.” 

“I figured as much; it doesn’t hurt if I don’t move it,” Mac offered. 

Jack sent him what he hoped was a droll look. He spotted Nurse Gammy making her way towards them. Her name wasn’t really Gammy, it was Charlotte Gillespie, but she told the students and staff to call her Nurse Gammy because she was ‘old enough to be Abraham’s grandmother’. She reminded Jack of his grandmother and since she was from Tennessee he found a kindred Southern spirit in her. 

“Oh Honey, what did you do _this_ time?” Nurse Gammy asked as she set her backpack full of medical supplies on the ground. “You’re soaking wet,” she narrowed her eyes at him. “Don’t tell me that you went for a swim in that icky water!” 

“Okay then, he won’t,” Jack said with a laugh. 

Nurse Gammy swatted Jack on the shoulder. “You better behave Jack Dalton, or else I’ll have to whip you.” She then turned her attention back to her patient. “Seeing as how this ankle is swollen I’m guessing you twisted it when you fell in?” 

“Yes, ma’am,” Mac answered. He winced as she started feeling around on his injured ankle. 

“Well I’m not feeling anything worrying. So let’s get you back to your classroom where I’ll wrap it up for you and get you an ice pack. You know the drill, and I’m pretty sure you still have the school’s crutches in your classroom from the last time you injured an ankle.” Mac blushed. Nurse Gammy helped pull him to his foot while Jack grabbed the backpack and Mac’s sock and shoe. “Put one arm around me and the other around Jack here, and we’ll have you back to the school in no time.” 

They slowly made their way back into the building and into Mac’s classroom, where his students were quietly at work. Jim got up from where he had been sitting at the teacher’s desk. “Is Mr. MacGyver going to be ok?” The kid looked worried, and Jack remembered that he had Mac for several classes. 

“I’ll be fine Jim. Don’t worry.” Mac gave the student a tight smile. “You have any problems?” 

“No sir, everyone sat down and started working.” 

Jack and Jim stepped out of Nurse Gammy’s way as she started wrapping the offending appendage. “Young man, would you mind running to my office and grabbing an ice pack out of the freezer?” Nurse Gammy asked without even looking up. 

“Yes, ma’am!” Jim answered as he dashed out of the room. 

Seeing as how Mac was in good hands, Jack figured he should head back to his classroom to check on his own students. “Hey Mac, I’ll see you at lunch. And send Jim to my room when he gets back with the ice pack.” 

Mac gave a thumbs up. “Oh yeah, don’t forget it’s your day!’ 

Silently Jack cursed. Him, Mac, Bozer, and Riley all ate lunch together every day and would swap days to pick up their food from the cafeteria. He had to admit they had an excellent cafeteria, and ordering lunch was simple. They sent out a e-mail of the week’s offerings, and every morning you selected your choices and weather you would be eating it there or taking it to your classroom, and the food would be waiting for you when it was your lunch time. And they had some of the sweetest lunch ladies, his only grips was he hated juggling several boxes of food down the hallway to Mac’s classroom. He had even thought about paying one of the students to deliver the food, but figured he would get in trouble if Matty ever caught him. 

A couple of hours later Jack was carrying the meals down to Mac’s classroom. He could hear Riley’s voice clearly as she told the others what one of her student’s had done. “He was like ‘Hey Ms. Davis, can I show you a video on my phone?’” She had deepened her voice to sound more like the student in question, “Now you see, I fell for this trick last month. He showed me this stupid video that I don’t even want to remember.” Jack started passing out the boxes listening to Riley. “But he kept asking, saying that he knew I would like this one, so I relent and it is freaking hilarious!” She picked up her phone, “Here I have to show you!” The video showed a GMC truck’s tires wobbling badly while the song ‘Wobble Baby’ played in the background. Jack had to agree it was pretty great. 

“Lunch is served, bone a-piete,” Jack said in his best haughty waiter voice. Mac opened his mouth, no doubt to correct his ‘French’ but then shut his mouth and just shook his head. Maybe the boy was learning. “So, Mac tell y’all about his swim this morning?” Mac had his foot propped up with a ice pack on it, but he had clean clothes on and his hair didn’t look as disgusting as it had. He must have paid a visit to Bozer in the home ec. room, so that meant that Bozer probably knew the whole story. 

Riley turned her head to look at Mac, “Let me guess it has something to do with why you’re ankle’s all wrapped up?” 

With a sigh Mac motioned at Jack, “Why don’t you tell it? I know you’re dying to.” 

“So there I was,” Jack started as all three pairs of eyes landed on him. He enjoyed telling the tale and of course had to elaborate wildly, then Mac would call him out on it. As he finished he looked at the three kids at the table with him. There was nowhere else he would rather be. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Liked it? Found some problems? Let me know, I love hearing from you even if it's to tell me your favorite color, lol. And with keeping with tradition of shamelessly promoting my next story; It is 'Uncle Mac' Where an emergency has Reese (from episode Lidar+Rogues+Duty) call Mac to come babysit his twins. Hope you liked it!


	3. Stubborn as a Mule

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mac starts feeling sick, but in usual Mac fashion, he decides that he can teach thought it. His body has other ideas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all back with another 'Teacher 'Verse" update! Thanks to BabyGenius for the beta, and as always I don't own MacGyver. Hope you enjoy!

Getting out of bed that morning was extremely difficult. Angus MacGyver—or Mac as he was known to his friends and Mr. Mac to his students—felt like hammered crap as his friend, Jack Dalton would say. But it was Friday and he had a test to give in two classes, so he needed to be there or else he would have called a substitute teacher in. Gritting his teeth, he slowly made his way into the bathroom. He didn’t think the pick-up basketball game of staff verses students had made him that sore, but he couldn’t straighten up without his side killing him. The smell of breakfast wafted into the room. While it was normally a smell that he quite enjoyed, because his roommate Wilt Bozer was the best cook, today it made him want to upchuck the delicious sushi he had last night. Now that he thought about it, the fish could have been bad and that was what was causing the sick feeling. Jack always did warn him about gas station sushi, and had said that one day he would regret it, well today he was regretting it.

After taking care of business he stared at his reflection in the mirror. He looked pale and like he felt like, that is to say, complete and utter crap. Taking a deep breath to help the nausea, he reached into his medicine cabinet, grabbed some Advil, and knocked a couple of pills back. He hoped that could get him through two periods, then he could sleep the rest of the food poisoning he surely had off in his bed at home. Glancing at his watch he realized it was later than he realized. He quickly, or as quickly as he could, got dressed and grabbed his knapsack with all his school stuff in it from its usual spot beside the door. The action of leaning over sent a wave of pain shooting through his body, and he had to pause outside his door to catch his breath.

“Hey Roomie.” Wilt Bozer paused, as Mac walked into the kitchen. Bozer gave him a once-over then said. “No offence, but you look like something the cat drug in. Are you sure you want to go to work today?”

Mac nodded as he poured coffee into his thermos. “I think that sushi I had last night might have been bad.”

“Told you the gas station ain’t the best place to purchase sushi,” Bozer gently rebuked him.

“Yeah, I know. Jack’s also told me about a million times,” Mac said as he absent mindedly rubbed his aching side. “I’ve got two tests to give, If I still feel bad after that I’ll call a sub. What time you going in?” Mac asked as he made his way to the door.

Bozer was in charge of the drama department, and was a home economics teacher. This semester he had first period off. So, sometimes he would wait and come in right before second period. “I’ve got some props that I’ve got to pick up then I’ll be heading over. So don’t let Matty give my Free Food Friday food away!”

Mac smiled at his friend. If you were smart you wouldn’t try to come between Bozer or Jack and their food! With a wave, he limped out the door; when he took a step, his hide pulled and sent a spike of pain through his abdomen. ‘ _Hurry up and work!_ ’ He told his body, wanting the pain pills to kick in so that he could get through his day.

He pulled into his usual spot and spotted Jack’s Shelby in the far corner. Jack always parked there because he didn’t want to chance another driver accidentally scratching or hitting it. His classroom was one of the closest to the teacher parking, but right then it seemed a million miles away. He just wanted to get back into bed and sleep this persistent ache off. Stepping out of the Jeep, he was happy to note that he could walk relatively pain free. Going up to the fire exit to his room, he held his badge up to the reader and the door unlocked with a soft thunk. Coming into his classroom always brought a smile to his face. Matty had given her faculty the freedom of decorating however they wanted, so his room was filled with odds and ends that he had cobbled together to help educate his students. He had a large chemistry set beside his desk and white boards all over the front of the classroom, on the visible walls he had their art teacher paint colorful equations and numbers. Jack said his room looked like a STEM program throw up on it. After depositing his stuff in his small supply room and grabbing the tests, Mac unlocked the door and went to sit behind his desk. The ache had migrated from around his navel over to his side. He had the vague hope that it would just migrate on out, but he figured that came from hanging out with Jack too much. Hearing the first bell, he repeated the mantra that he had been repeating ever since he woke up, _‘I can make it though two classes.’_

****************************************

Jack Dalton sat behind his desk sipping on something that Riley Davis had dropped off for him that morning. It was some sort of chocolate-mixed thing like you would get from Starbucks and it was good. He had his feet propped up on his desk and was reading an American History magazine that he received through the school. He was deep in an article about the Donner party when his phone buzzed. He pulled the phone out with a sigh, and upon seeing that it was one of his baseball students he frowned. Jake had better not be sending him memes in class, again. Opening the text he read, ‘Hey Coach D. I’m worried about Mr. MacGyver he ain’t lookin so hot. U might need to check on him.’

Drink and article forgotten, Jack quickly made his way to Mac’s classroom. Looking in the security window he saw that the majority of the students had their heads down writing. Mac was sitting at his desk with his head in his palms. That right there alarmed Jack; Mac was the type of teacher who walked the isles to see if any of his students needed help and to discourage cheating. He scanned his badge on the reader and the door unlocked with a quiet thunk. Opening the door he made eye contact with Jake, and mouthed thank you at the student then quietly made his way over to Mac who hadn’t moved, which inched up his worry up another notch. Normally Mac would have shot him a glare. But Jack was standing right beside him without Mac having realized he was in the room. He laid a hand on Mac’s shoulder and could feel the heat radiating from Mac’s body.

Slowly, Mac turned to look at Jack who had crouched beside him. “What are you doing here?” Mac’s eyes looked glassy, adding to the ‘Mac has a fever’ theory.

Jack shook his head, “The better question is: what are _you_ doing here? You look like death eating a cracker, and I can feel the heat pourin’ off of you so you’ve got to be runnin’ a fever.”

“I’ve got two tests to give today, then I was going to call Penny to come in and sub for me.” Mac looked so earnest all Jack could do was shake his head.

“No, what we are going to do is I’m going to call Bozer to have him cover your class while I take your sick self down to the Nurse’s office,” Jack spelled out for him.

“But…” Mac tried to protest, but Jack could tell that his heart just wasn’t in it.

“But nothing.” Jack gestured towards the room phone. “I’m gonna call Bozer, you be getting up.”

Jack listened to the phone ring on the other end and he was just about to hang up when, “Double-O Boze.”

In any other circumstance, Jack would have told Bozer exactly how stupid he sounded, but with Mac being so sick he got straight to the point. “I need you to get down to Mac’s classroom, he’s sick or something.”

“Be right there,” Bozer answered, all traces of joviality gone.

Since Mac hadn’t moved since he left, Jack firmly held Mac’s elbow and lifted him to standing. He wobbled once and grabbed the trash can just in time to get sick into it. Several voices cried out, “Ewwwwwww.”

While keeping on hand on Mac’s elbow and another rubbing his back, Jack shot the students his best teacher look with a hint of drill sergeant. They quickly shut up. “Jake get down here and take names of anyone who so much as looks sideways until Mr. Bozer gets here.”

The student grabbed his papers and made his way to the front of the classroom. “Yes, sir.”

“Bring that trash can with you,” Jack instructed Mac. “I don’t think Rick wants to be cleaning up teacher puke.” Even as sick as he was Mac still managed to shoot Jack a glare. 

Once he was upright with one arm clutching the trash can, Mac tried to shake off Jack’s hand. “I can walk you know,” he said quietly.

With a roll of his eyes Jack let go of Mac and opened the door. They hadn’t even gotten five feet down the hallway before Mac stopped. His free hand grabbed his side and he let out a moan of pain.

“You ok Mr. Mac?” The deep baritone of Rick, one of their janitors came from behind them. He was a large man, but moved with the grace of a panther. Then again, one had to if one was a former Force Recon Marine.

After a second, Mac straightened up. Then, despite his fever glazed eyes and how he held both his side and a trashcan, Mac said, “I’ll be alright.”

Jack couldn’t hold back the scoff. Mac started to cut his eyes at Jack, but ended up puking into the wastebasket. With a shake of his head Jack informed Rick, “We are headed to Nurse Gammy’s office. Despite what this idiot thinks, I’m worried.”

Rick nodded, “I’ll help.” With that he scooped Mac up in his arms bridal style and started down the hallway with Mac protesting the entire way.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Jack let out a bark of laughter and just managed to snap a picture of their backs for blackmail latter before they made it to the Nurse’s office. Nurse Gammy only had time to proclaim, “Oh my Heavens!” before Rick placed Mac on the cushioned bench in her office.

Pointing at Jack, Rick said, “Let me know how he feels latter.” At Jack’s nod he disappeared back down the hallway.

Nurse Gammy scooted her chair over to where Mac was now laying. “You look awful, my dear! Tell me what’s wrong.” As she was talking she grabbed the ear thermometer and was assessing his condition. The thermometer read, 101 degrees Fahrenheit.

“I feel awful,” Mac replied, before vomiting into his trash can that he still held. The nurse handed him a cup of water to rise out his mouth. Once he could talk again Mac filled her in on how he was feeling. “This morning I woke up with my lower abdomen hurting, I figured it was the sushi I had last night.”

“I keep telling you gas station sushi ain’t worth it,” Jack interjected.

Ignoring his friend, Mac continued, “After I arrived at school the pain had moved towards my side. I have—” Mac stopped suddenly and bit his lip tightly.

Nurse Gammy carded her hand through his hair, “It’s okay,” she said soothingly. “Just breathe through the pain.”

Mac let out a breath. “It keeps getting worse. I thought I could make it though the tests I had to give.”

“I’m pretty sure I know what’s wrong. This might hurt a little bit, but it’s a good indicator of what’s going on.” Then she pressed down on his lower side.

He shook his head. “That doesn’t hurt.”

She let go.

If it wasn’t for Nurse Gammy’s arm holding him down he would have flopped off the table. “I’m sorry to tell you, but I’m pretty sure you have appendicitis.” Jack nodded in agreement.

“So what are my options?” Mac asked weakly.

Jack snorted, but Nurse Gammy answered anyway. “Well, you have two options. Jack can take you to the hospital where they will remove your appendix or I will call an ambulance and it will take you to the hospital where they will remove your appendix.”

“I’ll go pull my car around.” Jack announced, making the choice for Mac.

******************************************

Mac hated the groggy feeling that came from being put to sleep. He blinked his eyes a few times, trying to adjust to the light of the room. His side was now a constant dull throb, unlike the sharp, breath-taking pains from before. And he could feel the masking effect of the good pain killers.

“You with me kid?” Jack’s voice came from off to the side. Mac slowly turned his head in that direction. Jack was sitting with Riley with cards strewn between them on a table.

Mac lifted the hand that had the IV attached to it, and rubbed at his face trying to wake up a bit more. “Think so. Time is it?”

“It’s about four,” Riley replied with a smile. Mac figured he had to look like some adorable animal or something for Riley and Jack to be giving those looks. “They wheeled you in here about thirty minutes ago.”

Jack took over, “When they got you back in surgery your appendix had already burst, and that’s why your fever was so high. They’re confident that they got all the infection, but you’re on a pretty powerful antibiotic and some of the good stuff.”

“Who sent me flowers?” Mac asked when he noticed the large bouquet of flowers in the window, a smaller bunch next to them and a new roll of duct tape next to that.

“The smaller bouquet is from the school, the duct tape is from the school, and the stupidly large one is from the creep Murdoc.” Jack shuddered at the mention of the name.

“Isn’t he still in alternative school?” Mac asked.

Riley nodded. “Yep, but apparently news travels fast about everybody’s favorite teacher getting sick.”

“So when can I go back to school?” Mac questioned despite the large yawn that made his jaw pop.

Jack shook his head and told Riley, “I tell you he’s as stubborn as a mule!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with keeping with tradition of shamelessly promoting my next story; It will be a tag the the season 4 finale. Cause we all know that Mac didn't escape all of the unscathed. See you in a week!


	4. Where Do I Come From

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Mac tries to do his family tree, he makes a few discoveries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this will probably be the last 'Teacher Verse story for a while. I've got a few other stories in the planning stages, but I'm thinking about doing a 'Spring Break' story (of course ti won't be the typical beach vacation) Just let me know what you think! So I love genealogy and tracing my family roots (mostly Irish & English, very boring, lol) and it made me realize that Mac probably don't know much about some of his family, so this little angsty fic was born. Thanks to BabyGenius for betaing the latest installment of the teacher 'verse! I always love to hear from ya'll! Oh bonus imaginary points of you catch the wink to Stargate!

Angus MacGyver sat in his classroom after school and stared at the computer screen. He had ancestry.com pulled up and was attempting to build a family tree. Mac was able to put in his mom’s side of the family. His mom, Ellen Ann Jackson MacGyver, her dad, Henry Oliver Jackson, and so on, he had even found a cousin named Melburn Jackson, which made him thankful that he was only saddled with Angus; but there was a glaring omission from this family tree: his dad’s side of the family. James had already been long gone when they studied genealogy in school, and Harry didn’t know the MacGyver side of his family. So he had no clue even about where to even start. He put James Allen MacGyver, then stopped and stared at the screen not knowing what to do next. That was when one of his best friends Jack Dalton, who had started the whole mess to begin with, found him.

Sticking his head into the classroom Jack said, “You forget that Bozer rode to school with you today? He is beyond ready to go. Apparently his drama students were dramatic, who knew!” Jack must have noticed that Mac wasn’t responding because he walked into the room and asked softly, “What’s up, Hoss?”

Mac sat back in his chair and rubbed his forehead trying to dispel the headache that was forming. He didn’t want to tell Jack that an assignment that Jack had assigned his kids was causing Mac all this ennui. So in his normal fashion Mac decided to avoid talking about it and started to grab his knapsack and close his laptop, but Jack took hold of his wrist and stopped him. “Talk to me, Mac.” While his tone was gentle Mac could hear the demand behind the words, but still he hesitated. Letting go of Mac’s hand Jack pulled his phone out and typed a few words then gave Mac his attention. “Bozer’s gonna ride with Riley. They’re gonna go ahead and get supper started, so we’ve got plenty of time for you to spill your guts to good ol’ Uncle Jack.”

Mac shuddered, “Please don’t ever refer to yourself like that again!” Mac sighed and turned the computer where Jack could see it. “After your lecture this morning I decided to try to find my own family tree.” In first period Mac had gone to help Jack with his presentation about ancestory.com and how to find people in your family tree. Mac had run the tech part of the lesson while Jack talked. Jack’s sister had done most of the work of tracking down their family as they came over from England to Virginia into Georgia then into Tennessee and onto Texas. She had even applied for membership into the Daughters of the American Revolution and was encouraging Jack to do the membership for the Sons group. “As you can see, I’ve gotten a good ways on Mom’s side of the family, the Jackson’s. But I realized that I don’t know anything about Dad’s side of the family.” He looked Jack in the face, “I don’t even know the first names of my grandparents.” Mac sighed and shook his head. His headache intensifying, he laid his head face-down on top of his hands on the desk.

A warm hand settled on his neck and gently massaged it. “Have you ever tried to find your dad?” Jack questioned as he continued to gently massage.

Mac shook his head carefully not to disturb Jack’s massage which was doing wonders on his throbbing head. He answered, “Harry gave me a mailing address when I went off to Basic, but I never wrote to him or anything. I couldn’t ever find the words that I wanted to say. Thanks Jack.” Jack stopped massaging and pulled up a chair to sit in. Mac sat up blinking a few times against the bright lights, but his former headache stayed away.

Jack nodded, “Yeah, I never knew what to say to my Pops either. I’m thankful that we were able to mend fences before he passed.” They sat there in the silence for a bit. “Have you ever considered trying to write him a letter now?”

“I’ve thought about it a time or two, but before I would get the chance, I would talk myself out of it again, and who knows if he is even still at that address.” Mac paused for a few seconds. “Plus, what would I even say? ‘Hey Dad, I know we haven’t seen each other in a few years, can you tell me your parents names and when they were born?’”

Laughing, Jack answered, “You could do that, _or_ just write how you feel. I’m going to impart you with a little bit of Dalton wisdom, then I’m going to give you your space. If I had just one more chance to talk to Pop again I would take it in a heartbeat, no ifs, ands, or buts. We don’t know how long until our time’s up, so don’t let something you might can fix slip away.” Jack stood up and walked to the door, where he paused. “Think about that and I’ll see you at your house.” With that he was gone.

Jack was right, Mac thought. We don’t know how much time we have left, so he minimized ancestry and pulled up his word processing program. At the top he started, _Dear Dad_ …

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So thoughts? And my traditional shameless promotion of my next fic! Keep an eye out for 'Crossing Paths' My three way crossover. MacGyver and the Winchesters are recruited to join the Stargate program. I am pretty excited to be posting it! Hope I will see you there!

**Author's Note:**

> Liked it? Found some problems? Let me know!


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